


After the Echoes

by Vinylshadow



Category: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Genre: Canon? What Canon?, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-06
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-07-25 19:31:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16204175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vinylshadow/pseuds/Vinylshadow
Summary: The world has been saved - twice - and its saviors finally have time to relax and take life at their leisure.Hah, yeah right.





	After the Echoes

Grovyle watched his partner pace around the interior of Sharpedo Bluff, tail and ears flicking in agitation.

"I'm bored," the small skitty said, flopping onto her back. She kicked her paws in the air and looked at Grovyle. "Aren't you?"

The grass-type shrugged, idly adjusting the grass stem it held in its mouth before replying. "I am currently content with the state of things." He eyed his partner thoughtfully. "Regular guild quests don't interest you, and we've met all the legendary pokémon in this region..."

The skitty stared at him for a moment before rolling onto her belly. "You're suggesting we travel somewhere else?"

"It's a big world."

The skitty chuckled. "That's true." Her tone turned musing. "I've heard tales of other lands across the sea, and glimpsed other lands from up in the sky." Her stomach clenched at that particular memory and she pushed past it. "I suppose we could look for a ship overseas..."

"There's a lot of preparation for such an undertaking. Plenty of time to change your mind too," Grovyle noted. "If your convictions aren't solid, and you back out..."

The skitty narrowed her eyes. "I faced my own erasure from existence more times than I care to remember, and never backed down. When I say I'll do something, I mean it."

"There's the Echo who went back in time with me," Grovyle said, nodding. "I was wondering where she had gone."

"Sod off, ya overgrown shrubbery," Echo grumbled, ears pinker than usual.

"You have such an interesting way with words," Grovyle said with a grin. "Your choice words to Dialga, Darkrai, Arceus, Kyurem, Hydreigon, and Munna still bring me amusement to this day."

Echo's lips thinned as she pressed them together in an approximation of a smile, before it faded. She glanced outside towards the sea and then the other direction, where Treasure Town lay. "It's gonna be hard saying goodbye to them again."

"They'll understand," Grovyle said. "They're...used to saying goodbye."

Echo let out a hiss, body going tense for a moment before she nodded curtly. Getting to her paws, she began pacing again, muttering to herself about items, provisions, and other such things they'd need for the trip to a port town.

Knowing she'd be like this for a while, Grovyle climbed the ladder out of the interior of the cliffside. Once out, he stretched his limbs and went to the edge of the cliff, sitting down. Years ago, he had sat here with his partner's partner, and the two had talked about their partner.

Echo's partner had seemed taken with her, although Grovyle never figured out if it had been romantic or friendship. The human-turned-skitty had the odd ability to forge fast friendships with anyone she met, human, pokémon, or otherwise. He had been envious of that at one point, but had let it go easily enough.

Grovyle tilted his head back, enjoying the sea breeze.

"Hello there."

Grovyle didn't even twitch at the voice behind him, but merely nodded.

"Guildmaster Infernape," he said respectfully. "It's good to see you."

The fire-type chuckled, taking a seat beside the grass-type. "Same to you, old friend. Keeping busy?"

"To be honest, not really," Grovyle said, tossing his grass stem over the cliff before plucking and stripping a new one. "Echo's wanderlust is acting up again, and we may be going overseas."

"I was wondering when that would happen," Infernape said with a grin. "I believe this is the longest she's stayed put here before finding something new to amuse herself with."

"Yeah," Grovyle said quietly, gazing off into the distance. "Ever since her partner left, she's been trying to keep herself busy, but there's only so many escort and rescue missions you can do before they lose the appeal, and the desire for something - anything - new takes hold."

"Oh, I imagine she'll find plenty to do once she's somewhere new," Infernape said, resting his hands on his knees. "If you're looking for somewhere to go, I got a letter from the Expedition Society. One of their members - Ampharos - was talking about a resurgence of Mystery Dungeons."

Grovyle went very still, before glancing at Infernape with a frown. "You're sure?"

The fire-type nodded, expression grim. "Something is coming, and Ampharos' guild has been short a few hands, so they'll take whatever help they can get. If you're interested, of course."

Grovyle nodded, getting to his feet. "Of course. I'll talk it over with Echo, and we'll be off within a few days."

"I wish you both the best of luck."

The two pokémon clasped hands, before going their separate ways.

* * *

"Echo, it's time to get up."

Echo, the skitty, twice-savior of the world, Ace-Ranked Explorer, rolled over in her nest and pulled the soft grass that filled it over her ears, grumbling incoherently.

"You do realize what will happen if you don't get up, right?"

Echo brushed the grass from her head, giving it a shake before glancing over her shoulder at her partner, who was leaning against the frame of the opening that led to her den.

"When we lived at the guild, that'd usually mean we'd get told off for lax behavior," Echo said, stretching her limbs one at a time before standing up for a full-body yawn. "And then get stuck with something like sentry duty or escorting the grumpiest, slowest pokémon this side of the Endless Sea."

She stood up, and gazed up, at the grovyle that was her partner. "There, I'm up. Satisfied?"

"We do this every morning," Grovyle said with a shake of his head, leaf waving to and fro. "I've already glanced over the latest expeditions and found an interesting one from an old friend of yours."

That got Echo's attention and her eyes gleamed. "Go on. What has Ho-Oh sent us?"

"Aside from you, to this world, all those years ago?" Grovyle asked dryly, ducking under Echo's Iron Tail before catching it on the backswing with a Leaf Blade. "Apparently, Ho-Oh got a message from Arceus and was told to pass it on to you."

"Go figure," Echo grumbled, brushing past Grovyle to enter the hall, which was lined with other openings, most covered by a cloth, a few sporting doors of various makes, with images of their occupants beside or on them. "Too lazy to come down and deliver it in person."

Grovyle, being twice the size of his partner, scooped her up so she could ride on his shoulder before shrugging. "Could you imagine the hullabaloo if it showed up here though? We'd never get a moment's peace."

"We've saved the world twice over," Echo pointed out. "Yet we're barely treated any differently than any other exploration team."

They entered a massive room lined with tables, piled high with berries. Grovyle grabbed a few, sticking them onto his leaves, and held one for Echo as she nibbled on it. The duo then left and continued on.

"Feats aren't what anyone cares about around here," Grovyle said. "It's who you know and who's on your team. The fact pokémon like..." He glanced around and dropped his voice before continuing. "Legendary pokémon even bother to entertain the thought of going on expeditions with the average pokémon means they respect you. And we've managed to get Arceus and the entire creation trio on our side, as well as many others..."

He shook his head. "Anyway, apparently Arceus has been doing some digging and..." He trailed off, the leaves on his limbs drooping. "It may have found a way for you to get home."

Echo blinked, then snorted.

"I am home," she said flatly. "I've been here for over a decade and gave up hope of ever returning home a long time ago. Just because it's now possible doesn't mean I'm leaving the friends and memories I've made here."

"That sounds rehearsed," Grovyle noted, raising an eyebrow.

Echo's ears twitched, heating up. "I've very had plenty of time to think about it," she admitted, ducking her head sheepishly. "I suppose we'll have to track down Ho-Oh or Arceus and tell them about this. Should've done it years ago..." she added under her breath.

"That will not be necessary, little one," a voice said, as a gold and silver-furred eevee stepped out of a nearby room - a supply closet, Echo idly noted - and fell into step with them. "I heard it all and suspected as much."

Echo nodded. "I apologize for any trouble you may have encountered in pursuit of that knowledge, my lord," she said, eyeing the form the Alpha Pokémon had taken. "Seems like a waste to have told Ho-Oh about this if you were going to be here yourself though."

"It pays to have multiple methods of passing on a message," Arceus replied. "I was simply passing through and thought I'd stop by."

Echo glanced back the way they'd come and frowned. "I'd be more inclined to believe that if you hadn't walked out of a broom closet."

"It was a nice broom closet," Arceus said defensively, ears going flat.

Echo and Grovyle stared at the eevee incredulously and it at least had the decency to look slightly sheepish.

"It doesn't matter," Arceus said with a flick of its tail, before it glanced back at it curiously. "Such an interesting body. I'll have to remember to thank Sasha for the inspiration. Nobody you'd know," it added, seeing Echo and Grovyle's blank stares. "I know a lot of pokémon. Some like you two, others like...well, regular humans, I suppose." Arceus shook its head. "But at this point, I'm rambling, so I shall make myself scarce. Don't be afraid to give me a call if you'd like to go spelunking."

Arceus walked over to another door and opened it, revealing a swirling portal of light, and vanished into it.

"And that's the bathrooms," Grovyle noted. "Quite the odd duck, that one."

"At least it didn't try to kill us when we met it, like the others did," Echo said.

"I'm...reasonably sure the others wouldn't have killed us - certainly not on purpose, wished to least," Grovyle said. "They just wanted to make sure we were strong enough to explore with them."

"Groudon literally punted you into a volcano, and if Latios hadn't been passing by, you would have died," Echo said.

"Semantics," Grovyle said, flicking a hand dismissively. "Come on, let's go see what's happening in town."

**Author's Note:**

> Yet another story in which there is no story, only anachronistic shenanigans, glacial updates and a severe lack of scathing criticism thrown at the author for a lack of creativity.


End file.
